Travelmarvel Premium Cruise and Tours Arvostelua 

Excellent itinerary with well located hotels and superb service from both our tour director and coach driver. Included meals, tours and options were all much appreciated. Fabulous trip from start to finish.

The crew was fantastic!!! Every need we had was met instantly. Roland, the Restaurant Manager, was particularly memorable. He provided a level of service that was outstanding and was the main reason we had such a good time!!!

APT is now our go to for European river cruising. We've travelled from Amsterdam to Budapest and vice versa, and now a fabulous trip on the Douro. Wonderful food, great excursions off the ship. Great organisation and exceptionally efficient organisation. Service onboard is friendly and professional at every turn. A special shout out to cruise director Artur. Always upbeat, beyond helpful and relentlessly hard working. And, importantly, great fun. A real credit to the company and I look forward to travelling with Artur, and APT again in the future.

Our cruise was from Broome to Darwin. There were problems with the cruise that the company were not responsible for - having to board the ship by zodiac in a very large swell and an outbreak of a gastric virus. But, the ship needed a bit of TLC. A lot of the guests complained , as we did, that the air conditioning did not work well. The room controller did not seem to work at all. Also, the toilet and sink got blocked, and the beds were far from comfortable. While the food was good, it was served far too quickly at dinner. When one course was finished the next would be served right away. Not a pleasant dining experience. Having said that, the staff and crew were great and the lectures were very interesting. On the whole, not worth what we paid.

THIS WAS OUR FIRST EXPERIENCE OF THIS SORT OF CRUISE - WE WERE SO IMPRESSED BY THE FOOD (especially) THE CREW SO HELPFUL - HOW THEY MANAGE TO GET US ALL ON AND OFF SO WELL ORGANISED - WE SHALL REPEAT THE EXPERIENCE

A well organised trip visiting some interesting places. There was clearly a timetable and we were all transported efficiently. The director and the crew were all very approachable, knowledgable and friendly. The mix of passengers was great and good fun.

No hand rail at the pool as I and many other have mobility problems also twice at lunch the choice was risotto that tasted like rice pudding next day the choice was vegetable curry chicken curry or prawn curry the majority of the seating in the lounge was uncomfortable I ask at breakfast for poached eggs and was told they did not do them only fried but surprise next morning poached eggs which I am afraid were cold rooms were OK dinner at night in the main were good except for the Portuguese barbecue dreadful

The tour was fabulous. We loved every destination. Our tour guide, John Fitzgerald, was very friendly, professional, organised and informative. We were a large group but it was managed very well. Don, our driver was very safety conscious and his welcome smile was a great start to the early mornings!
Our only criticism is that there wasn’t enough time to enjoy each destination. For example we could have had an extra couple of days in Banff to fully appreciate the area and all it had to offer. Extra time in Jasper and Vancouver would also have been appreciated.

The boat was a sailing luxurious home. Staff, good, entertainment and bus connections with experience drivers all was amazing, polite and so welcoming and professional- thank you for a wonderful holiday ❤️❤️

Good itinerary. Great place to visit. All staff were always pleasant and smiling.
Food on board was delicious, good selection and generous portions.
Clean and comfortable boat with very scenic river valley. Well appointed and roomy cabins.

There was a distinct lack of communication prior to the cruise when things were obviously going to have to change. We were booked on the gems of the Rhine and Danube cruise. Biblical rainfall would have been necessary to change water levels in order for the river cruise to run on the original itinerary and there was no information until 4 days before our embarkation date. Once on board our only complaints were the packing and repacking and the longest bus journey from Amsterdam to Frankfurt. The ships were excellent particularly the new Rigel and the best was made of a difficult situation. The crew worked really hard to give us a joyful experience, the food was extremely good and the insider experiences well thought out. We had a good time, saw most of the places and made new friends. We were really pleased that Travelmarvel had booked us all into a hotel for 2 nights in Budapest at the end of the tour fulfilling the itinerary though it was a shame to have to finish the cruise in that way.

On arrival in Lisbon we & other travellers could not find the Travelmarvel rep, eventually we found a very young lad who was the rep. He did not have a sign or a tshirt to show who he was, very confusing after hours of travel. The taxi had been in an accident earlier in the day & could only take 4 persons & luggage each trip as you couldn't get in the boot. Creating an hours wait for it to come back. The young lad did ring his office for another taxi but he was denied. This is not the standard we have come to expect from you & were very disappointed with the start of our holiday.
The hotel was nice and the cruise was up to your normal standard. We did enjoy ourselves but the reception at the airport was very poor & needs to be looked.

It was everything we expected and more The ship was so comfortable our cabin the restaurant the sun deck all such a high standard the food was 1st class

Very good guide who had the tour running like clockwork. Good hotel and tours.

The potential for this holiday was immense but, unfortunately, due to low water levels in the River Danube, we had to change boats four times and then stayed two nights in a hotel in Budapest. We understand the logistics of moving everyone around was horrendous but must mention our cruise director Thomas for his efficiency and pleasantness throughout. The hotel in Budapest looked very nice downstairs but our bedrooms were not up to standard as the fridge didn’t work, the shower was broken and lacked safety equipment. Considering we had paid for a superior room on the boat this was not reciprocated in the hotel and we were very disappointed.

Great staff and food was excellent. The Estrella was a lovely boat. The Douro is beautiful place to cruise and everything was extremely well organised!
Hugh

Lovely time and very nice ship

We paid quite a lot extra for the owners suite at the back of the ship. This turned out to be right above the engine and crew area. It was noisy mostly at 0500 when setting off and increasing speed. We could also hear the staff. The room did have beautiful views and the cabin attendant was lovely.
The food quality and choices were poor. Chicken nuggets and chips and no children on board. Salads were just lettuce and tomato. Tinned artichoke. The service was ok but rushed and you had to leave as it closed on the dog and they refused to give a glass of wine 10 mins before closing
Everything was clean. Hand sanitizer on entry to dining room.
Breakfast was poor again little choice and scrambled egg tasted like a mix. Omelettes were dreadful.
Some of the pasta dishes and chicken were nice .
The entertainment was also poor. Had a few guest entertainers that were ok
The tours were excellent and the tour guides were very good, friendly and knowledgeable .Trips were well managed, interesting and the food on those was lovely. Local paella, wines etc
The scenery was stunning, the conditions onboard were good.Safety excellent with crew always helping guests to disembark and embark.
Would I book with travel Marvel or aPT again .. No.. not worth the money. There are better river cruise companies serving better food and wine for a better price.
My advice is to shop around and do your research.
Noise that disturbs your sleep and bad food is not a holiday and no matter how good the scenery and the tours it didn’t make up for it or the price we paid.
We did let them know onboard but nothing changed

Great organisation throughout our 7 day Douro river cruise. The ship facilities and cabins were excellent. The staff, the food and drinks were exceptional. The itinerary was fabulous including the excursions.

Tour director and all staff excellent service